Habitat set aside for bird

A federal agency Wednesday issued a final rule protecting 737
miles of rivers in five states, including California, in a bid to
help an endangered migratory bird —— the southwestern willow
flycatcher —— rebound from its declining population in the
Southwestern United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service targeted for special
treatment much of the San Luis Rey River in North San Diego County,
as well as 3 miles of Temecula Creek south of the Riverside-San
Diego county line and more than 5 miles of the Santa Margarita
River between Camp Pendleton and the county line.

Riverside County streams were not designated because, the
federal agency said, the $1 billion, 500,000-acre Western Riverside
County habitat conservation program provides sufficient protection
for areas the birds depend on.

Noah Greenwald, a conservation biologist for the Center for
Biological Diversity in Portland, lamented that the protected area
is much smaller than what the agency originally proposed and said
it "fails to identify numerous areas" crucial for the bird's
recovery.